BJP to join forces with OBC, SC & ST bodies

THIRUVANTHAPURAM: BJP state president V Muraleedharan has said that his party will cooperate with backward caste community-based organisations in the Assembly elections.

Addressing a meet-the-press programme organised by Kesari Memorial Journalists’ Trust here on Monday, Muraleedharan said that the BJP would hold talks with various community organisations on the issue.

He said that a final consensus will be reached with Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Dheevara and Viswakarma organisations in the coming days. “The BJP and these organisations have reached a broad understanding to support the candidates of each other in some constituencies,” he said.  “Distance between the NSS and SNDP which have announced equi-distance policy in the election, and the BJP have been reduced. These organisations now are closer to the BJP than the LDF or the UDF,” Muraleedharan said.

“As part of the efforts to reach consensus with other backward caste and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates, the BJP has not announced candidates to the reserved constituencies,” he said.

He also demanded reservation to economically backward candidates among forward caste and at the same time asked the Government not to dilute the reservation of Scheduled Caste. The BJP state chief also wanted changes in the criteria to identify creamy layer for other backward castes.

“Till now the problem faced by the BJP was the weakness in the local-level organisational structure of the party. Efforts have been made to redress this weakness during the past five years and the result was evident in the local-body elections,” the BJP state president said.

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